Horse racing newsletter: Latest Kentucky Derby rankings

Hello, my name is John Cherwa, and welcome back to our horse racing newsletter as two California tracks are shuttered for the weekend.

Jon White’s Kentucky Derby Top 10

Time for the good stuff. As always, we’re lucky to have top expert Jon White take a look at what’s happening on the Kentucky Derby trail. Jon makes the morning line at Santa Anita, he’s a licensed steward, and he’s the pre-eminent historian on racing. We’re lucky to have him. So, here’s his Kentucky Derby rankings, brought courtesy of Xpressbet.com.

“In terms of formulating my own Kentucky Derby Top 10 each week, I not only monitor horses, I keep an eye on various Kentucky Derby lists compiled by people who have my respect.

“Holding the No. 1 spot this week on my Top 10 is Storm the Court, who was voted a 2019 Eclipse Award as champion 2-year-old male. Trainer Peter Eurton continues to get the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner ready to make his return to equine combat in Santa Anita’s seven-furlong San Vicente Stakes on Feb. 9.

“Where does Storm the Court rank on some other Kentucky Derby lists?

“BloodHorse’s Steve Haskin has Storm the Court at No. 2 on his Derby Dozen behind only Dennis’ Moment.

“As for the Top 20 rankings by Gary West (the respected journalist, not the owner of Maximum Security), Storm the Court is No. 10. West, like Haskin, has Dennis’ Moment in the top spot.

“Jeremy Plonk, who puts together a weekly Top 20 for Countdown to the Crown, has Storm the Court all way down at No. 14. Plonk’s No. 1 is Honor A.P.

“The future book odds released Monday by the William Hill Sports Book indicates just how wide open the 2020 Kentucky Derby appears to be at this point. William Hill’s 8-1 favorite is Tiz the Law. Next on Monday’s list of odds were Dennis’ Moment, Maxfield, Storm the Court and Thousand Words, all at 12-1.

“Tiz the Law and Thousand Words both will be running Saturday. Tiz the Law is the 3-5 morning-line favorite in Gulfstream Park’s Holy Bull Stakes, a 1 1/16-mile race that has attracted a field seven. Thousand Words is the is the 4-5 morning-line favorite in the Robert B. Lewis Stakes at Santa Anita. The Lewis, also a 1 1/16-mile affair, has drawn a field of six.

“Trained by Barclay Tagg, Tiz the Law makes his 2020 debut after winning two of three starts as a 2-year-old. The Constitution colt won the Champagne Stakes by four lengths at Belmont Park in early October. Tiz the Law then finished a close third in Churchill Downs’ Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes when he experienced a troubled trip on a wet track in late November.

“Thousand Words, a $1 million yearling acquisition, is two for two. After winning a maiden race at Santa Anita in late October for trainer Bob Baffert, Thousand Words won the Los Alamitos Futurity on a wet track in early December. Thousand Words’ sire is Pioneerof the Nile, whose son American Pharoah swept the Triple Crown in 2015. Baffert also trained American Pharoah.

“High Velocity, who like Thousand Words hails from the powerful Baffert barn, also is entered in the Lewis. High Velocity, 3-1 on the morning line, finished third in the Los Al Futurity.

“Also at 3-1 on the Lewis morning line is Tizamagician, who won a one-mile maiden race by 2 1/2 lengths at Santa Anita on New Year’s Day. A son of two-time Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Tiznow, Tizamagician had been winless in five starts prior to his Jan. 1 triumph. Keep in mind Omaha Beach was winless in his first four career starts, but then reeled off four straight victories. Can Tizamagician similarly go on a winning streak after finally leaving the maiden ranks?

“The Holy Bull, Lewis and Aqueduct’s 1 1/8-mile Wither Stakes are the three races Saturday on the Road to the Kentucky Derby.

“The Road to the Kentucky Derby is a series of races awarding points to the first four finishers toward a starting berth in Churchill Downs’ $3 million Kentucky Derby to be run at 1 1/4 miles on May 2. The Holy Bull, Lewis and Withers each will reward Kentucky Derby points to the first four finishers on a 10-4-2-1 scale.

“Topping the field of eight entered in the Withers is Shotski, who is the 2-1 morning-line favorite. He will be making his first start since winning the Remsen Stakes at the Big A in early December. Jeremiah O’Dwyer trains Shotski, whose sire, Blame, won the 2010 Breeders’ Cup Classic by a dramatic head to hand the great Zenyatta the only loss in her 20-race career.

“Saturday’s seven-furlong Swale Stakes at Gulfstream does not offer any Kentucky Derby points. Nevertheless, it should be watched closely due primarily to the presence of Green Light Go and Untitled in the field of eight.

“Green Light Go, trained by Jimmy Jerkens, will be competing for the first time since he finished second as the 6-5 favorite in the aforementioned Champagne won by Tiz the Law. A son of Hard Spun, Green Light Go won the Saratoga Special last summer.

“Untitled, who is No. 10 on my Kentucky Derby rankings, was an 11-length winner at first asking in a six-furlong maiden race at Gulfstream on Dec. 14 for trainer Ralph Nicks. Mark Casse subsequently took over as trainer of the Khozan colt following a private sale in which Gary Barber is now the majority owner. Casse won last year’s Preakness Stakes with War of Will and Belmont Stakes with Sir Winston.

“The only race on the Road to the Kentucky Derby last week was Oaklawn Park’s Smarty Jones Stakes, a race worth 10-4-2-1 Kentucky Derby points to the first four finishers. Gold Street won in a 10-1 upset. Three Technique ran second as the 2-1 favorite. Shoplifted and Silver Prospector finished third and fourth, respectively.

“Trained by Steve Asmussen, Gold Street led all the way on a muddy track and won by 2 3/4 lengths. It was Gold Street’s third consecutive victory. The Street Boss colt still needs to prove he can succeed on a track that isn’t wet. He is three for three when racing on a wet track. He’s winless in three starts when running on a track that wasn’t wet.

“In the Smarty Jones, Gold Street seemingly took advantage of a racing surface that was favorable to early speed. I thought that Three Technique did give a good account of himself to finish second while racing around two turns for the first time. Not only did Three Technique come home willingly, he galloped out strongly. I’m still not as high on Three Technique as some people, but I will be taking him more seriously going forward off his commendable effort in defeat last week.

“Meanwhile, Daily Racing Form’s Marty McGee provided an update this week regarding the status of Maxfield. A son of 2007 Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense, Maxfield is No. 6 on my rankings.

“McGree reported Wednesday that Maxfield recently returned to trainer Brendan Walsh’s barn at the Palm Meadows training center in Florida after undergoing rehabilitation at Bridlewood Farm in Ocala, Fla. The colt had a small ankle chip removed after being scratched from the Nov. 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. Maxfield, who is two for two, rallied from ninth to win the Breeders’ Futurity by 5 1/2 widening lengths at Keeneland last October.

“Walsh told McGee: ‘He’s back galloping at Palm Meadows and we’ll monitor him this week as to when he can start back working. But he’s done great physically and is moving great, too. We’re going to see how he does, let him tell us where we are with him. I’d say we’ll know a lot more in a month or so. I wouldn’t rule anything out, and I wouldn’t rule anything in. It will be a waiting game with him for a little while.’

“Even though American Pharoah did not have his first recorded workout of 2015 until Feb. 2, he was ready to win Oaklawn’s 1 1/16-mile Rebel Stakes on March 14 in his 3-year-old debut. It would seem to me that Maxfield needs to have his first recorded workout of 2020 fairly soon or else a Kentucky Derby for him will become very iffy.

“Here are this week’s Kentucky Derby rankings, courtesy of Xpressbet:

1. Storm the Court (1)

2. Dennis’ Moment (2)

3. Nadal (3)

4. Honor A.P. (4)

5. Thousand Words (5)

6. Maxfield (6)

7. Tiz the Law (7)

8. Authentic (8)

9. Independence Hall (9)

10. Untitled (10)

NOTE: Last week’s rankings in parentheses�

Kobe remembered at the track

Santa Anita paid tribute to Kobe Bryant by placing his original No. 8 atop the Seabiscuit statue in the paddock area. It’s just part of a citywide tribute to Bryant, who along with his daughter and seven others, perished in a helicopter crash on Sunday.

Santa Anita review

The tepid feature on Thursday was a maiden special for horses going a mile on the turf for a purse of $55,000. The winner was Go Daddy Go (see Ciaran Thornton’s Thursday result below), who took the lead on the far turn and won a nice stretch run by three-quarters of a length. He was trained by Brian Koriner and ridden by Umberto Rispoli. Go Daddy Go paid $10.80, $5.60 and $3.80. Muralist was second and Border Down finished third.

Santa Anita preview

Santa Anita follows up its seven-race card on Thursday with a seven-race card on Friday. But, a strong nine-race card looms on Saturday, including three graded stakes. OK, as for Friday there are three allowance/optional claimers, all worth $57,000. But the most equal of all of tem is the sixth, as the tage is for $80,000. It’s a mile on the turf for 3-year-old fillies.

Blue Sky Baby is the 2-1 favorite for trainer Phil D’Amato and jockey Mario Gutierrez. She is one-for-two lifetime, winning her first race and finishing third in the Blue Norther Stakes. This will be her third different jockey in three races.

The second favorite, at 5-2, is Little Bird for Richard Baltas and Joel Rosario. She is two-of-five lifetime and finished sixth in the Blue Norther. She will be making her second U.S. start havig run her first four races in England. Post is around 3:30 p.m.

Here are the field sizes, in order: 7, 6, 5, 7, 7, 6, 9.

Ciaran Thornton’s SA pick of the day

RACE FOUR: No. 3 Sunrise Royal (10-1)

Sunrise Royal makes the third start off the layoff and picks up Umberto Rispoli for the first time. He has won two of four for trainer Eric Kruljac and is three of four in the money. This tandem wins on prices and are two of four recently and three of four in the money for a big ROI. This horse has the best turf speed off all in the race and difference maker Rispoli is riding. Royal is the top earner in the field and an excellent 10-1 value for us.

Thursday’s result: Great jockeys are always the difference maker on horses that have everything needed to win but fall short. Umberto Rispoli with a perfect ride on Go Daddy Go broke nicely, tracked the leader and surged late to win. We only got 4-1 odds paying $10.80.

Ciaran Thornton is the handicapper for Californiapick4.com, which offers daily full card picks, longshots of the day, best bets of the day.

Golden Gate still has gas problem

I know a lot of you need your personable Matt Dinerman fix, and for you I’ve got bad news. No Matt this week. Oh, also Golden Gate Fields is shut down this week.

David Duggan, the Golden Gate big shot, had this to say.

“There is no concern of a gas leak at Golden Gate Fields. Unfortunately, there was a leak in the area Thursday. In order to repair it, the utility company responsible for the gas line had to shut off the gas to the track. When they repressurized the lines afterwards, it did some damage to the pipes that supply hot water to the facility.

“After speaking with specialists, it’s highly unlikely we will be fixed this weekend, so in the best interest of our horsemen, fans and employees and to safely expedite the repairs, we are canceling both racing and simulcasting this weekend. We feel confident we can be fully up and running by Thursday.�

(Cheap shot alert.) You know what The Stronach Group calls this kind of situation? A Pimlico!

Los Alamitos also on holiday

It’s time to turn things over to marketing and meda guru Orlando Gutierrez, who will tell us about things going on at Los Alamitos. Orlando, the floor is yours.

“As part of the track’s 2020 nighttime schedule, Los Alamitos Race Course will not race this Super Bowl weekend. Los Alamitos will be open for daytime simulcasting and on Sunday afternoon will feature a viewing party for the big football game. More information is available at losalamitos.com.

“Live racing will return on Friday night, Feb. 7 with a first post time of 6 p.m. Next weekend’s racing will be headed by the running of the Grade 1 Los Alamitos Winter Derby on Saturday and the Grade 1 Brad McKinzie Los Alamitos Winter Championship on Feb. 9. The winner of the Winter Championship will earn the first of eight provisional berths to this year’s Champion of Champions. Los Alamitos will not race on two other weekend nights later this year – Easter Sunday (April 12) and on Saturday, July 4.

“Ron Hartley, who campaigned four-time AQHA champion gelding Moonist and 2019 champion 2-year-old filly Cartel Jess Rockin, passed away on Monday. Hartley was 81-years-old. Hartley was a fixture in California racing since 1955, starting as a groom for his father Nick Hartley’s racing stable and later opening his own training barn in 1957. In 1962, he began working in the racing office at Los Alamitos and eventually became a racing secretary and a racing steward for five years. He would return to owning horses in 1989 an his racing and breeding operation grew into one of the nation’s best starting in 2013.

“A leader in the quarter-horse racing industry, Hartley was a member of the Pacific Coast Quarter Horse Breeders Assn. Board of Directors and served on the association’s awards committee. He also served as an officer with the American Quarter Horse Assn. Hartley was recognized with the 2005 Frank Vessels Sr. Memorial Award, presented annually to an individual in appreciation for outstanding contributions to the sport of quarter-horse racing. He was the 2019 PCQHRA owner special achievement award winner. His Cartel Jess Rockin, the winner of last year’s Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity, will make her stakes debut in next Saturday’s Winter Derby final.�

Now, the stars of the show, Thursday’s results and Friday’s entries.